With the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a head of government from the EU is on the list of Reporters Without Borders for the first time.
He is classified as an enemy of the freedom of the press.
Berlin - The organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has for the first time a head of government from the European Union on its regular list of "enemies of press freedom": the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
"Since Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party came to power in 2010, they have gradually brought Hungary's media landscape under their control," criticized the journalists' association in Berlin on Monday.
"The public service broadcasters were centralized in the state media holding MTVA, which also includes Hungary's only news agency MTI," wrote RSF in a statement.
“The regional press has been entirely owned by Orbán-friendly entrepreneurs since summer 2017.
In autumn 2018, almost 500 media companies close to the government were combined in a holding company in order to coordinate their reporting centrally. "
The list of “enemies of the freedom of the press” includes 37 heads of state and government who embody the ruthless repression of the freedom of the press in a particularly drastic way.
In addition to Orbán, the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who repeatedly incites against the media, and the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are also re-listed.
RSF accuses him of crimes against humanity, among other things because of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
The Hong Kong Prime Minister Carrie Lam is also new to the organization's list: "In the Chinese special administrative region, the Apple Daily newspaper, a symbol of freedom of the press, had to cease operations in June."
The list also includes many long-standing "enemies of press freedom", such as Eritrea's President Isaias Afewerki, China's head of state and party leader Xi Jinping, Syria's ruler Bashar al-Assad and the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
“New names have been added in all regions of the world. Their methods of suppression are different, but serve the same purpose: to prevent critical reporting at all costs, ”said RSF managing director Christian Mihr. “This affects journalists who courageously continue their research, but also the population, who are thus denied access to independent information, which is so important in times of a global pandemic. It is also shocking that those responsible often get away with impunity despite brutal crimes. ”RSF has published the list at irregular intervals since 2001. dpa